Mascoma Corporation, a forerunner in the cellulosic ethanol industry, is bursting at the seams in its Lebanon, N.H., lab. The corporation, which moved into its current location at the Dartmouth Regional Technology Center in Centerra Park just over a year ago, will soon be forced to move as a result of space constraints.
"We don't have another desk for another person," Mascoma cofounder and Thayer School of Engineering professor Lee Lynd said.
The corporation is dedicated to researching alternative fuel sources, specifically cellulosic ethanol. Unlike corn ethanol, cellulosic ethanol can be produced out of any plant matter containing cellulose -- including wood chips, lawn cuttings and prairie grasses.
The company is growing much more rapidly than its founders originally expected, the Valley News recently reported. Mascoma, which currently has 40 employees in its Lebanon office, plans to fill 25 more positions before the year is up, an expansion which will require the purchase of a new facility.
The corporation's space at DRTC is limited to 8,500 square feet. Mascoma, however, wants to stay in the Upper Valley -- a difficult proposition in an area where developed space is in high demand.
If the corporation were forced to relocate to another location, it would likely have to lose a large chunk of its staff.
"It would be a major disruption," Lynd said.
Though he estimated that some employees would move with the company, Lynd said it was likely that some would be unwilling to make the transition.
A move could also hinder the company's chance to gain a competitive edge in ethanol research. The company's competitors are moving forward in their own research each day, as each strives to be the first to design and implement a plausible system of alternative energy.
"We're not the only ones in this [ethanol] field," Senior Vice President Jim Flatt told the Valley News. "There is a race."
The space requirement for the corporation's new site has been estimated as 55,000 square feet and several potential locations have been identified.
One such option, called the Gateway complex, is just a few minutes from the DRTC and offers 56,000 square feet. Mascoma, however, is not the only one vying for space -- a group of doctors is looking to purchase approximately 38,000 square feet of the complex. Other possibilities include a plot of land by the Lebanon airport industrial park, where a developer is looking to build a facility specifically for Mascoma.
If the company is unable to secure one of the real estate opportunities in the Upper Valley, officials may look to areas such as New York, San Francisco or Cambridge, Mass., for new labs.
Mascoma already has offices in Cambridge, and is building ethanol plants in Michigan and Tennessee.
The corporation is looking to have a decision made by the end of this year. The actual move will take place no later than mid-2009.
